Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

I went to the Fair many times, saw every pavilion many times. The New York State Pavilion may have been one of the largest, but it was certainly one of the weakest. Outside of the tower (too long of a line), the only feature was a basketball court-sized map of New York State. The NYS government never appropriated enough money to maintain the building or tear it down. So it sits as a 50 year old eyesore with no real value at all. Restore it to what? An open canopy roof that leaked alot of water in it's first year, only useful for 4 months a year. Tear it down!

My siblings and I loved wandering over the huge map and finding our hometown ("Look! Union Hill! Right where it oughtta be!"). To this day there are those who say this was the best designed building at the fair.

I visited the fair many times, living in the area. The NYS Pavilion was mediocre and had none of the glitz and excitement of the GM, IBM and other attractions.

Looking at the photo, it seems that the pavilion was a low cost government project and pretty sad displays were evident. The ices vendor could not compete with Belgium Waffles.

The NYS pavillion sits as an eyesore to this day. A rusting skeleton that has never been loved and 50 years of neglect have made it look worse for wear. I have heard that a group has volunteered to paint it.

...but no idea how. There's so much rust. The city & state have talked for years about what to do with this structure. At this point it should just be taken down in my opinion. A lot of other World's Fair relics have turned to crap. Some, like the Hall of Science with its Rocket Park, have been brilliantly maintained and re-purposed.

Sorry Bumpkin, I disagree (in a friendly way, of course). I was 16 at the time of the fair, and being a native New Yorker (I lived within walking distance of the Fair, and visited a lot), I was very impressed with the mosaic tile floor which was a map of New York State, with major cities, towns etc. highlighted as reference points.

Unfortunately, this pavilion, which still stands, is now in a disgraceful state of utter disrepair. Some civic groups have been trying to get monies for improvements and repairs but nothing major has happened yet. Sad to see such a beautiful building meet such a sad demise.

I attended the NY Worlds Fair in 1965 as a 15 year old. This pavilion did nothing for me at the time. The IBM, General Motors, and AT&T Pavilions had some wow factor for kids my age. It's interesting that the NY Pavilion is one of the few extant fair objects.

A young Danica Patrick in the red hotrod, with a mall cop quick on the scene to slow the little darlings down. But where are the adults monitoring their children? I forgot, this was the 60s when the streetlight was the sign it was time to come home.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo archive featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1960s. (Available as fine-art prints from the Shorpy Archive.) The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.